A trip to the hardware store is always a great way to find new ideas. Especially those old been there forever ones that you have to hunt for....I love the possibilities of the shelves and cases as they have things a big box store will never reveal. Here is a pendant I made after my trip...
One of the things I went to the hardware store to find was hardware cloth. It is very inexpensive and works great to use in a rolling mill or just simply with a hammer! the pattern on the copper sheet in this photo above is made from hammering hardware cloth on the sheet. The piece on the top left in the photo below was done with a hammer and the other two went through the rolling mill which is a little more consistent.
I annealed the copper and cut it out with a pair of shears and punched a hole in the center with a disc cutter. If you don't have a disc cutter you can cut it out with a jeweler's saw which gives it a more handmade look anyway! In the photo below you see a watch crystal and a small square that I used matte medium to attach an image on.
To accomodate the crystal which is convex on both sides I used my Dap and Die set to bow the hole out enough to hold it in but let it sit securely.
Then I did the same to the back square. once you create the bow in it, take a smooth hammer and tap down the outside edges--oops forgot a photo of that!
Now to assemble. I drilled four 1/16th hole on the front piece so I could place them where I wanted. Then drill one hole through the back--as you can see I oopsed and didn't get it lined up so I have two holes! Remember when you rivet to only do one at a time as things shift and if you drilled all four of the back holes you would really struggle to put it all together. A good rivet fits tightly so a slight shift is always a problem. I used aluminium rivets for this, but eyelets or wire or pretty much any kind of rivet would work great.
again the finished piece....
The 4mm leather cord was already finished and in my drawer. You can see where I made the caps from Vintaj Magnolia Bead Cap. I just gently squeezed them together and then made a wire wrap to attach the hook to. After I made this piece I decided it needed some bling. so I added some of our yummy sparkle chain around the outside with E 6000. With this glue, use a tiny plastic bag in a pastry bag manner. It keeps the glue from curing too fast and really makes it easy to control.
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Here are some other fun things I found at the hardware store and plan to use in future projects!
I love hardware!! These are really tiny so they aren't too heavy for jewelry....
copper nails, I like the wonky tops on the big ones...
